Wednesday, October 05, 2005

BTDino sauriers

The next day, I went to the tournament ready to play. I wasn't going to let the previous day's satellite losses get me down. When I sat down at my table, I was pleased to see that I didn't know any of my opponents. There were two empty seats and they were soon filled by Lee Watkinson and John Juanda. It seems like that always happens. Big name players fill the empty seats of a table I am playing at. I won the first three pots I played and I thought things were going to go well for me in the tournament. On the first hand, I called one opponent down with AK high and won the pot. On the second hand, I held pocket Kings and won a nice size pot. The third hand was the most profitable of all of them. I raised to $75 with 87 of spades. The player to my left reraised to $200, one of the blinds called and I called. The flop was 952 with one spade. The big blind checked and I checked behind him. I was prepared to call a small bet because I figured my opponent would never know what hit him if I caught the six or backed into a flush. The player in position bet $225 and I called. The turn was a six giving me the straight. I checked, my opponent bet $1,100 and I moved all-in. He called in an instant and showed me his set of nines. He was not pleased to see my straight. The board didn't pair and he left complaining about "another bad beat".

I made a big mistake on a hand that followed. Lee raised in early position and I called with 87 of spades again. The flop was 873 all clubs. Lee bet, I raised, and he reraised. I thought he had the dry ace. The turn brought no club, so I called Lee's all-in bet. He showed the 54 of clubs. I wasn't expecting that hand at all. I was mad that I gave so many of my chips away. I was even madder that I gave them to one of the most talented players at our table. About a half hour later, Cyndy Violette joined our table. This was not exactly the table I wanted, but I wasn't going to let them get the best of me. I vowed to play the best game I could.

John Juanda built his stack up nicely. He played conservatively in the beginning and made some great calls. With his experience and his stack, he started to dominate the table. Whenever it was my big blind, he was in the cutoff seat and he always raised if the players folded to him. On one of the hands, I decided to take a stand and call his raise with T9 of clubs. The flop was KTx. I checked, he bet, and I folded. I actually considered moving in on him in this spot, but decided against it. During the dinner break, I told myself to take a stand against him the next time around. The first hand after the break, I was in the blind and John didn't fail me. He raised and I moved in with A4. He called my raise with J8. My hand held up and I doubled up. After seeing his hand, I wish I would have moved all-in with my pair of tens earlier. At least I know what to expect the next time he is sitting at my table.